This
matter is before the court on Petitioner's Petition under
28 U.S.C. § 2254 for Writ of Habeas Corpus by a Person
in State Custody (Doc. 4). The parties have consented to the
jurisdiction of the undersigned United States Magistrate
Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c) (Doc. 12). After
reviewing the case, the Court has determined that Petitioner
is not entitled to relief. As a result, the Court will
DENY the Petition and
DISMISS the case.

I.
BACKGROUND

In
January 2007, Petitioner was charged with one count of
first-degree murder for the murder of Ricky Haynes
(“Haynes”) and two counts of Class C felony
stealing for taking two cars belonging to Haynes in St.
Francois Circuit Court (Doc. 10-2 at 36-37). On September 21,
2007, the State filed a notice of aggravating factors in
support of the death penalty (Id. at 9). On December
7, 2011, Petitioner pleaded guilty to first-degree murder
pursuant to a plea agreement with the State (Id. at
29; Doc. 10-1 at 2). At the plea hearing, when asked how many
times Petitioner had discussed his case with plea counsel,
Petitioner agreed it was well over 40 times and further
stated that counsel had spent close to 100 hours with him
(Doc. 10-1 at 2). Petitioner also testified that he was
satisfied with counsel's assistance, felt he had
sufficient time to consult with counsel before pleading
guilty, and felt he had been fully informed of all charges
and defenses available to him (Id. at 2-3).
Petitioner stated he had not been threatened or coerced into
pleading guilty and acknowledged the rights he was waiving by
doing so (Id. at 3). In exchange for
Petitioner's guilty plea, the State withdrew its notice
of intent to seek the death penalty and dismissed the two
counts of stealing (Id. at 2-3). The Circuit Court
accepted Petitioner's plea and sentenced him to life
without parole in the Missouri Department of Corrections
(Id. 6, 39-40).

On
March 1, 2012, Petitioner filed a motion for post-conviction
relief (Id. at 33, 48-52). On December 4, 2012, with
the assistance of counsel, Petitioner filed an amended motion
(Id. at 34, 58-74). Without holding an evidentiary
hearing, the motion court denied Petitioner's motion on
January 8, 2013 (Id. at 34, 75-77). On February 10,
2013, Petitioner appealed the motion court's decision,
raising the following ground for relief: the motion court
clearly erred in denying Petitioner's post-conviction
relief motion in that counsel was ineffective because there
was not pretrial determination of whether Petitioner is
mentally retarded, [2] and thus categorically ineligible for the
death penalty (Id. at 34; Doc. 10-3 at 8).

On
appeal, Petitioner asserted that, if afforded a hearing, he
would provide medical records that establish Petitioner's
mental retardation and that he is, therefore, ineligible for
the death penalty under state statute. Specifically, before
the post-conviction appellate court, Petitioner outlined his
medical and school history as follows:

Thurman
pleaded that medical records in counsel's file would have
shown that Thurman was born in August of 1985. He was
delivered by Caesarian section, under general anesthesia, due
to failure to progress. Thurman started experiencing seizures
at nine months of age. At less than a year old, he was
evaluated at Farmington Community Hospital and Spirit of St.
Louis Hospital and found to have an abnormal EEG and CT scan.
Those tests revealed “asymmetrical ventricles” of
the brain. He was placed on 20 mg of phenobarbital twice a
day at the age of eleven months.

At a
very early age Thurman experienced difficulty in the normal
classroom setting. In 1990, at the age of five, he was
evaluated at Rolla Regional Center. Intelligence testing at
that time found a full scale score of 75. Thurman was placed
in special education. In 1993, Thurman was having difficulty
keeping up in first grade and was evaluated at Neurologic
Associates of Cape Girardeau. Dr. Steven Mellies noted that
Thurman's problems were organic versus psychiatric and
that he would benefit from special education. An EEG
performed by Neurologic Associates showed abnormalities in
brain functioning.

Thurman's
school counselor reported to Dr. Mellies that Thurman has
“across the board learning problems.” By 1994,
Thurman was being prescribed Ritilan for Attention Deficit
Disorder in addition to his anti-seizure medication. In 1996,
Thurman was evaluated by Children's Haven in Farmington.
Children's Haven noted that Thurman was of borderline
intelligence and made reference to a prior CT scan that
showed scar tissue on Thurman's brain. Thurman was
referred to a psychiatrist.

In
1997, another EEG showed generalized “spike and
wave” abnormalities consistent with seizure disorder.
In 1998, Thurman was seen by Dr. David Mullen at the Bonne
Terre Medical Associates. Dr. Mullen's notes indicate
that Thurman “probably has mild MR or significant
learning disabilities . . . testing showed low IQ and couple
grades behind.” An IQ test performed on May 20, 1998
showed a full scale IQ of 67.

In
1999, Thurman was being home schooled by a public school
teacher. At a meeting at Rolla Regional Hospital, a plan was
devised recommending that Thurman continue being home
schooled, that the family be provided with respite services,
and that he needed more community involvement. The plan
reports that his diagnosis is “ADHD, mild mental
retardation, damage to . . . brain and epilepsy.”

In
2000, at the age of fifteen, Thurman was hospitalized after
attempting suicide by hanging himself. While at the Spirit of
St. Louis hospital he is [sic] diagnosed with “Major
Depression, Impulse Control Disorder NOS, Parental/Child
Relational Problem, Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Mild
Mental Retardation.” At Lakeland Hospital later that
year he was given a Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and
scored a 79. In a Social Service evaluation performed while
at Lakeland, he was characterized as mentally retarded. In a
Lakeland School assessment, Thurman is [sic] also diagnosed
as mentally retarded. At the age of sixteen, an evaluation
was performed by the West County R-IV school district in Park
Hills, and Thurman was diagnosed as “moderately
mentally retarded” with a Full Scale IQ of 69. And once
again, an abnormal EEG was found. In 2003 Thurman was
evaluated by psychologist Kenneth Mayfield. The test reports
that Thurman's speech and mental activity are
“clearly somewhat illogical.” Intelligence
testing found a Full Scale IQ of 71. In June of 2006 Thurman
was evaluated by Vocational Rehabilitation Services and found
to be eligible due to “Mental Retardation” with
an I.Q. of 69.

Thurman
was evaluated by neuropsychologist Dr. Robert Heilbronner, at
the request of plea counsel, in 2008. Dr. Heilbronner found
that Thurman suffered cognitive deficits in intellectual
functions, academic abilities, attention skills, learning and
memory (both auditory and visual information), and certain
language skills. The most pronounced difficulty demonstrated
on executive functions. He further found that there is
“clear and convincing evidence of brain-based
disturbances in neuropsychological functions that arise from
brain damage in early infancy.” Dr. Heilbronner
administered the WAIS 3 and found a Full Scale IQ of 72.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In 2010
upon the recommendation of Dr. Heilbronner, plea counsel
further explored the question of Thurman&#39;s intellectual
functioning. At the request of counsel, Dr. Stephen Greenspan
evaluated Thurman to determine if he qualified for an
exemption to death by execution under Atkins v.
Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002) due to mental retardation.
Dr. ...

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